Options in Case of a Train Strike

NEGOTIATIONS between Metro-North workers and management continued last week as the Westchester Weekly went to press, and there remained a chance that commuters would wake up tomorrow morning to face a railroad strike. If that is the case, they will have some options.

Metro-North assembled a range of back-up services to get commuters into and out of city, but officials emphasized that no series of alternatives would smoothly accommodate the more than 90,000 customers who travel to Manhattan by train each weekday. Expect crowds and delays, they said.

The alternative plan comprises three basic options. Commuters can drive to parking lots within walking distance of a subway station, drive to major regional parking lots for bus service to subway stations or drive to specially designated Metro-North stations for bus service to the subway.

Brochures outlining those services are available at the Grand Central Terminal Information Booth and at outlying station ticket offices. Basic plans are as follows:

Park-N-Ride Facilities at Subway Stations: Shea and Yankee Stadiums will have free parking available to Metro-North customers. Shea Stadium is adjacent to the No. 7 line's Willets Point subway stop; Yankee Stadium is adjacent to the C and D subway lines.

Subway Drop Off/Pick-Up Stations: The 242d Street/Van Cortlandt Park station on the No. 1 and No. 9 lines and the Gun Hill Road subway station on the No. 2 and No. 5 lines are recommended for commuters who choose to be dropped off and picked up in the Bronx. Do not consider being dropped off at the Pelham Bay Park No. 6 or Bedford Park Boulevard C and D lines, since the curb space at these stations will be used for queuing riders of shuttle buses.

Park-N-Ride/Bus Shuttle Services at Regional Satellite Facilities: Between 9,000 and 10,000 parking spaces will be provided at lots that are not at train stations. Shuttle buses will operate from these lots to subway stations in the Bronx. Parking and bus fees vary. Buses will shuttle commuters from Orchard Beach Park in the Bronx (4,000 spaces) to the Pelham Bay Park station on the No. 6 line. Buses from the New Rochelle Mall (1,000 spaces) will also go to the Pelham Bay Park station. Buses from F.D.R. State Park in northern Westchester (1,000 spaces) and the Dutchess County Mall (900 spaces) will operate to 242d Street/Van Cortlandt Park Station on the No. 1 and No. 9 lines. Buses from Yonkers Raceway (4,000 spaces) will run to the Bedford Park Boulevard station on the C and D lines.

Park-N-Ride/Bus Shuttle Services at Railroad Stations: Bus shuttle service will be available at 15 Metro-North stations. Buses from Bronxville, Tuckahoe, Crestwood, Scarsdale, White Plains, North White Plains, Chappaqua, Katonah, Dobbs Ferry, Tarrytown and Croton-Harmon stations will go to the Bedford Park Boulevard subway station on the C and D lines. Buses from Brewster North will go to the 242d Street/ Van Cortlandt Park subway station on the No. 1 and No. 9 lines. Buses from Larchmont, Rye and Port Chester will go to the Pelham Bay Park subway station on the No. 6 line.

Most bus shuttle services will begin operating at 6 A.M. and are scheduled to continue until 9 A.M. In the afternoon, buses will start running from designated subway stations at 4:30 P.M. and will continue until 8 P.M. Midday shuttle service will run from the parking lots at Yonkers Raceway and Orchard Beach park.

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Commuters were advised to hold onto their monthly and weekly tickets. The railroad said that credit would be given toward the purchase of the next monthly or weekly ticket to compensate for any time Metro-North service did not operate because of a strike.

Tips from Metro-North in the event of a strike:

*Do not drive into Manhattan. By the time one got there, there would not be anywhere to park.

*Don't consider using Amtrak. Its trains do not have space and tickets will not be sold at Metro-North stations or aboard Amtrak trains.

*Don't expect to use Metrocards. They are not accepted at any of the stations served by shuttle buses.

*Remember that even during a strike, the power is on for the third rail and overhead catenary power lines on the driveway.

*Arrange to car pool to park-and-bus or park-and-walk locations.

*Carry exact change for bus and parking.

*Expect delays; allow extra time to get to work.

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A version of this article appears in print on July 16, 1995, on Page WC13 of the National edition with the headline: Options in Case of a Train Strike. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe